MTA seeks Buy America waiver for SAS

The Federal Transit Administration is considering a Buy America waiver submitted by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) "for the Pad and Rubber Boot of a Concrete Block for a Low Vibration Track System," related to construction of the Second Avenue Subway (SAS) in Manhattan.

FTA's notice, Docket No. FTA-2013-0038, notes that MTA is making the request "on the basis of non-availability," adding, "This notice is to inform the public of the

waiver request and to seek public comment to inform FTA's decision whether to grant the request." Public comment will be accepted until Jan. 16, 2014.

The notice was posted Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013 in the Federal Register.

"With certain exceptions, FTA's Buy America requirements prevent FTA from obligating an amount that may be appropriated to carry out its program for a project unless ''the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States,'' the notice read in part.

MTA made its request on Sept. 11, 2013, noting "that it specified an LVT system to address operational noise and vibration issues, which had been identified as significant adverse impacts in the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the Second Avenue Subway Project."

The two-mile, three-station first phase of the Second Avenue Subway is currently expected to be completed in late 2016. The line was first proposed in 1929, and as a profound non-entity for much of that time has become part of New York folklore.